An Uber driver killed his two young children by smothering them with a petrol-soaked rag as their mother slept upstairs, a murder trial has heard.

Jurors were told Endris Mohammed carried out the killings during a 'sleepover' in the lounge and then fled in his Minicab, leaving his wife to discover the lifeless bodies of eight-year-old Saros Endris and his sister Leanor, aged six.

Birmingham Crown Court heard the youngsters, who had suffered chemical burns to their faces, were found on a sofa and a mattress after their mother Penil Teklehaimanot was woken by a smoke alarm.

Mohammed, 47, denies the murder of both children and the attempted murder of their mother, but admits being responsible for the deaths.

Opening the case against Mohammed, prosecutor Jonas Hankin QC said repeated efforts were made to revive the children outside their home in Holland Road, Hamstead, Birmingham.

The barrister told the court: 'Police and fire services were swift to arrive. A small fire inside the front door of the address had been put out and the area smelled strongly of petrol.